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Deadpool & Wolverine teased that Wade Wilson was destined for great things in the MCU… but for Ryan Reynolds, who plays the character on screen, the worst thing that could happen for the character would be that he achieves them. Oh, and he also drops that he’s working on something new for the character right now, too.

Speaking at the Time 100 Summit, Reynolds said the key to making Deadpool work is, ironically, failure. “In order for a character that talks like that to work, you have to take everything away from him,” Reynolds explained. “So, his skin, his face — he’s covered in scars, he’s bald. He wears the mask out of shame.”

He continued, “I’m writing a little something right now that is, I don’t know, isn’t an ensemble, but it’s… But, you know, I like that he’s isolated. If Deadpool becomes an Avenger of an X-Man, we’re at the end. That’s his wish fulfillment, and you can’t give him that for a long time.”

Okay, two things to unpack. First: what is Ryan Reynolds writing for Deadpool? Are we going to get a surprise Deadpool project of some kind in the next few years? Surely not a full movie, although there are a some empty slots reserved for Marvel movies on the schedule for the next few years.

Secondly, Reynolds suggesting that Deadpool can’t be an Avenger or X-Men is both ironic considering the character has been both in Marvel’s comic book universe, and an interesting tease to drop given that Deadpool & Wolverine showed a version of the Sacred Timeline where Deadpool was certainly hanging out with the Avengers — or Thor, at least — and being the hero he always wanted to be. Perhaps that really wasn’t an Avengers: Secret Wars tease after all…

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• The MCU needs Anya Taylor-Joy's Magik in it (and not just for the X-Men connection)
• How Disney+'s What If...? is the moonshot for the next 50 years of Marvel Studios & the MCU
• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
• If Marvel is going to bring Loki back for Secret Wars, it's time to give him an upgrade
• In 2021, Sony's boss said people won't miss Spider-Man in its Spider-adjacent movie. Turns out, they do.